Bewildered
by collectingdays
Summary: Lauren's either loved or hated by the collective consciousness of the universe, for whether she's cursed or gifted she's to be part of something fantastic. Her purpose is shared and they must either conquer it or it will conquer them. Some are the gifted, the guides, the guardians, the adventures and the warriors, but all will be bewildered. I suck at summaries. Please just read.
1. Curses, Gifts, and Mistakes

**Hello. I haven't written any fan fiction before so I would really appreciate some critique (constructive, that will help me become a better writer, not rants about how horrible it is). Thanks for reading this story anyway. Here's the disclaimer…**

**Pokemon and all of its characters and creations do not belong to me. The only things in this story that are my own are original plots, characters and settings.**

**Well that was alright, I guess. Enjoy the story!**

_***oh and this is important**_

**BOLD=human speaking**

_Italics=pokemon speaking_

_Italics/non-dialogue= thoughts and flashbacks_

**Thanks!**

**Ch. 1- Curses, Gifts, and Mistakes**

"_Thrilling trilling in the air, hear me beat my wings and fly"_

"_See my feathers float to earth, hear my bright and joyful cry"_

Against the cerulean blue of the sky I could see him fluttering on the breath of the wind. Sunlight shimmered on the tips of his gossamer feathers, as he dipped and dived between the branches of the ancient oaks. He sang his twittering little ditty with such pride and joy, utterly free and jubilant. So marvelous! So odd that he did this! How miraculous it is that his life is so rapturous! I marveled at how different this was from my caged existence. The Pokémon's frantic wing-beats were wild compared to my careful tread. He warbled again-

"_I will play amongst the leaves, whirling on the autumn breeze"_

I leaned from the window until I could no longer see my little prison, just the wooden walls outside and the world beyond. I felt the Pokémon's autumn breeze caress me and almost believed that I could fall onto it and soar away from my pitiful little home in my destitute town. I leaned much too far to be safe from plummeting to death, but not far enough to escape from this life. How far do I dare reach? When will I fall…or fly? My fingernails stabbed into the wood of the sill, leaving a new set of indents, and my hands left defined prints in the dust. I closed my crimson eyes and fantasized myself as a graceful bird pokemon leaving my nest on the window sill, and never returning.

I wished the wee starly would fly closer to let me gape in awe at his brilliant black, grey and white attire. At his shimmering eyes, dainty claws and magical wings that could carry him to infinity. I wanted him to speak to me, so I could know what the sky felt like, and the sensation of freedom whistling through his feathers. I needed to ask him what a purpose is. I listened in bliss to another verse…

"_Freedom sings beneath my wings, songs of-"_

"**LAUREN! Get your freaking carcass downstairs, that miltank ain't milking herself!"**

I clenched my teeth in irritation, as Elsa's shrill screech mangled the morning's peace. I glared at the stairwell with a blazing red fury that would have melted her to a lump of sludge, if she had been within range. I peered at my window to heaven one last time but the starly was long gone, leaving a silence and void behind. The trees seemed to weep forlornly in the breeze and another batch of leaves twirled away. I would never speak to the joyful bird.

I huffed moodily and tossed my night-clothes onto my meager bed (More like my crappy bag of junk with a sheet). I despised the scratchy…potato sack (?), almost as much as I despised the hastily embroidered flower-print on the tattered sheet. It was probably once finery but now resembled dishrags. Delicate blossoms of periwinkle, and the satin pink of ballad shoes filled the fabric. They fell in neat little rows, so tame and fragile, just like my sister's vision of an ideal "lady". YUCK! Like she'd ever be more than a snorlax in a dress!

I hastily threw on a ragged navy blue t-shirt and some comfortable tan pants. My faithful and rancid white sneakers (now a sooty grey color) were slipped onto my feet. The clothes were pleasing to me, not because of their style, but simply because Elsa would resent them. I reveled in wreaking havoc on her "perfect" life. Technically it was just returning the favor.

I shoved my ancient leather bound notebook and pencil into my oversized pockets, checking vigorously for holes first. I could never bear to leave my notebook in this room, let alone this house, despite my tedious booby-trapping. The things that were written… no soul should ever bear witness to them.

I stepped an inch clear of an upright nail that I had set as a trap for my demonic sister. I had always feared she might try to do me in as I slept, so I had set a little minefield of rusty nails from the barn rafters into my splintery floor. I knew each ones position, even in the pitch darkness of night, but it had been proven several times over that my sister had yet to memorize my layout. She hadn't come into my room since I was seven, due to the painful scars her visits to my lair left. You call it cruelty, I call it precaution.

At the basin on my night table I somewhat sloppily brushed my teeth, and grinned into my dusty and cracked piece of glass that, I referred to as a mirror (just to be generous). The uncontrolled buzz of the bristles against my teeth and gums reflected the messy globs that occurred on my mouth and night table. I looked like some species of rabid pokemon with the mint flavored froth coating my lips and dribbling down my chin. I was thoroughly pleased by the thought. Maybe I would be more loved as a rabid poochyena. I spat in an equally vulgar manner, barley making the basin. I would cleanse it when I returned home.

Leaving my filthy night-clothes for later attention I made to creep stealthily down the wooden stairs that led to the living chamber. My sister was most likely stuffing her face with whatever junk she could find in the cabinet for she had forgotten to force me to make her breakfast. I did not want her to hear, or see me so that she might begin ranting again.

Thankfully I was the local ninja. I had mastered the art of treading on the creaking boards, with a bit more than a decade of practice. Archeus forbid, I was ever caught sneaking out at night by my sister's nocturnal husband as they acted like idiots on the sofa. They were a match made in hell! Twice a week, I found Richard's stinking pants under the cushions, as I cleaned this pigsty. It was a miracle that I wasn't an aunt (considering their not-quite exceptional parenting skills with me)! New couples are revolting! When I reached the bottom of the stairs I crept towards the door but not before I heard a raucous, "_look at that human scowl! She's redder than a wurmple in love!"_

"_Think the bloody brat'll blow? She looks like an emboar's ass with her pudgy frown!"_

"_Yer right Bro, that bloody, big maw of hers is just like some butt-hole!"_

I chuckled softly at the spearow calls. As dirty and contemptuous as those pokemon are I have always found solace in their sense of humor. The bird's remarks were priceless.

"Ruddy vermin, you'd think those spearow were insulting me, cussing at me maybe, from that tone!"my sister snarled.

_Often they do! _I thought gleefully. They were being rather polite today. I wondered if these were the brothers Flap, and Windy. They had been mobbing Richard around the barn lately. I had no personal connection to the spearow brothers but they were excellent for a good laugh if they happened to show up. I always enjoyed deciphering which was the curse word of the week. They had a habit of making it difficult to tell. Before my sister could shriek another order at me from the kitchen I fled from the house still chuckling.

Fresh air overwhelmed my keen senses. The house was miserable. My olfactory chamber registered the hopelessness of the place. It held the buried scents of my sister, her husband, and even deeper what I assumed could only be _my parents_. I decided never to pay attention to that scent, or the corresponding memories (or lack of). I was not your typical orphan though. Instead of moping over the people I didn't know I despised the one's I did. It's much more productive. I had to admit though, the whole house reeked of sweat and despair. The air here was rich in the fragrances of grass, tree sap, and turned earth from the nearby farms. It was a deep, strong aroma that made me lust to abandon my work and run off in search of even wilder and deeper ones. I started down the dirt trail to the barn.

"_Lauren, ya freak, your bloody sis been drinkin?" _one of the spearow's voices chimed overhead. I grinned, as I loped down the path. The word of the week must be "bloody". It was indeed Flap. His rough brown plumage thrashed in the wind, and his call rang very different from the starly's. His little brother drifted behind him almost lazily, admiring a particularly shiny paperclip that glinted in my pocket.

"_Nah, she's her normal sober self, and watch it flap. The freak has some moves. You'll find yourself as a scorch mark on my wall if you take to insulting me_." I countered. Thebirds seemed to find this insanely hilarious and reeled off into the wind screeching to their twisted heart's content. I almost missed them. I rolled my eyes as the barn loomed overhead.

I smiled as I inhaled the usual fresh miltank manure, and sawdust aroma. The barn was a welcome sight, no matter the fragrance. Its chipped red paint, broken-hinged doors, and cobweb pendants were glittering steel, and bright banners to me. In fact they were better. This was my home and mine alone. My sister and her arrogant husband left it completely to me to tend, as work was another vital part of life that they didn't understand themselves. I was blissfully solitary…almost. I snatched up the steel milking bucket from the outside hanging hook and strode inside.

"_Well it took you long enough, I've already done the shoveling for you, and I was about to start the milking!"_

"_Oh relax Gale, Elsa wouldn't care if we died." _I said bluntly. Gale shrugged and hung up the shovel. I silently cheered. I made a mental note of this, _arriving late=exclusion from manure shoveling._ Not that I was planning on arriving late often. I loved Gale far too much. She was the closest thing I had ever had to family. When I was but a babe, with nothing but an irresponsible sister and her temperamental boyfriend, she had coddled me and cared for me. She had probably kept me from getting tossed into the well too. It was the nature of her species to nurture children and infants, but I commend her for taking on my "special case". I'm was the kind of child that would make most nannies run for the hills, ripping their hair out. She was a Leavanny that had been my mother's pokemon before her death. Even though my sister had inherited her, I was the only reason she had stuck around. I would always feel guilty for that.

She was about three feet tall and looked vaguely like a feminine insect. She wore a lime hued leaf bonnet with a slash through the center. She had a yellow face, with kind rosy red eyes and leafy wings. Her thin legs, with large, dark green thighs were those of a lady and her half-leaf claws with indents were either open in greeting or full of house-work. She was, in my opinion, beautiful. She had a gorgeous soul, and was probably the only one ever to refer to me as gifted.

I was more than a freak. I was cursed. My red eyes that just screamed "abnormal" were bad enough. The curse had supposedly separated me from my parents, either through their death, or their sheer disgust to my ghastly affliction. I am, and never was startlingly hideous, but my heart, nature, habits and mindset apparently are. When I was a young fool I had told the other children about the pokemon in town. I told them about the conversations we had, and saw fit to express their opinions. I was a laughingstock.

"_**The caterpie's name is Rose and she wants to be let out now, you have to do it!" **__I cried to the other kindergarteners. The carterpie had been held captive as Tommy's pet for two weeks now, and the children were starving her. She was crying, that she missed the school garden. She begged to see the sun and to taste the rain. She said that she would die soon if she didn't go to find food._

"_Help Lauren, tell him to free me! Help!"_

_Tears were streaming down my cheeks. I reached for the cage from tommy, but he held it high in his hands, and stood on his tiptoes. Curse his height! Even when I jumped with every ounce of strength it was out of my reach._

"_**Did the pokemon tell you that," **__he mocked? His gleaming caramel eyes scalded my crimson gaze. I loathed the boy. I feared his cruelty. How could he be such a monster?_

_I nodded frantically, but he only smirked and my classmates laughed hysterically._

"_**You're crazy Lauren. Pokemon can't talk! You're a freak, with devil eyes listening to little voices. You're a stupid animal Lauren, just like this one!"**__ I screamed as he threw the cage and the caterpie through the classroom window. Not because of the insults he had scalded me with, but because I heard her faint voice fading as she fell those two stories down, asking why I didn't save her…_

I shuddered at the horrible memory, but I wasn't a defenseless runt as I was in that classroom. Two days later, in fact, Tommy had been rushed off to the hospital in agony, as his bed had mysteriously been set ablaze while he slept, without a match or fire-type in sight. All of the kids were afraid of me then. They thought I was a witch, or a demon. Maybe both. I should have felt remorse and ended my antics, but it only escalated from there. The ones who persisted found claw marks on their walls and poisonous venonats in their closets. Chloe Sul woke screaming to a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness in second grade for an entire week. Her parents couldn't get a word out of her in explanation. One day Suzie Avans came to school tardy with the words _filthy liar _scorched into her arm. But no human being could do such a thing! No one had any evidence against me, and people would storm my house on those nights only to find me fast asleep in bed. Eventually people left me alone, and I stopped my negative behavior. By the end of second grade I had melted into a nonexistence of rumor and superstition. I had lived this way for five years. The only ones I ever struck conversation with anymore were pokemon, so I was never truly alone. I saw an upside own town. To me the pokemon were the intelligent citizens and the people just part of the background. I was positive sometimes that my life would be substantially better if I were a pokemon as well.

I knelt down beside Dotty, our miltank, and patted her pink flank. She was a huge, hulking thing but uncannily gentle. She had sweet sky-blue eyes, and velvety black spots on her pink fur. Her wide mouth had always been in a permanent grin.

"_Please be sensitive, my udders are sore after that hooligan boy from next door yanked them." _She intoned.

I gritted my teeth angrily. The neighbor's little barbarian Soli had gotten a stone to the back of the head, for that. His parents had come demanding my apology but I had replied by strolling nonchalantly away. He had deserved it. He was a little devil.

I nodded to Dotty and placed the bucket underneath her. I gave the udder a squeeze and heard the satisfying tinkle of milk hitting the steel. I sighed and waited for Gale to begin chattering as she prodded the hay with a pitch fork.

"_Anything new_" Gale asked

"_Not much, I almost fell out a window this morning but that's about it_" I replied. Maybe I _should _have fallen from the window.

"_Hmmm… that's what you consider an uneventful Saturday?"_

"_Yeah. It would have been better if I had slipped-"_

"_LAUREN!"_

"_Kidding_," I murmured. Sort of.

"_School sucks as usual_"

"_Why is that?"_

"_The teacher thinks I'm a psychopath."_

"_She does not!"_

"_Your right…she just called me a "severely troubled individual."_

"_Lauren! You're just a bit different_."

"_You could call it that_."

"_What about your gift_?" Gale inquired.

I sighed. She was always poking around in my freaking curse! Didn't she have a life? _No stupid, you're her life, _I thought guiltily.

"_I've been practicing Ember and the fence kind of…well mostly got burnt up yesterday. I told Elsa Richard's stuck up heatmor did it. He'd let that thing get away with murder_."

"_You should have told her!"_

"_Why? So she would string me up? Richard would never let anyone punish his pokemon_."

"_How have your dashes been going? Any faster?"_ Gale pried. I picked up another bucket as the first began to overflow with milk.

"_I ran a 3.12 on my 40 yard, with the weights on my back_," I responded.

She whistled appreciatively and I sensed her turn in my direction.

"_Impressive, is barley even a human time. You're getting faster. Maybe you'll run a two something without the weights"_

I couldn't help but grin smugly as I faced away from her. I could well be the fastest person alive. Okay, _maybe_ I had an unfair advantage. My curse did have its benefits. Instead of swelling with pride I simply shrugged.

Dotty mooed in annoyance as I clutched her udder a bit too tightly.

"_Sorry girl" _I apologized. Gale took the full bucket and patted my shoulder. She ran her claws through my wild jet black mane.

"_I know it's a gift, Lauren. Archeus would never curse you. You are the kindest human I've ever known except…perhaps your mother,_" Gale said.

I turned to face her with a bright smile on my pale face. The sour hay, and miltank manure suddenly seemed a whole lot more pleasant.

"_Thanks Gale," _I whispered contently. If families existed, I knew that this was it. I felt Gale pause.

"_Hmm…this must be cut! What a mangy mess!"_ she wailed ruining the moment. I ducked and rolled, scarcely dodging a razor leaf attack aimed at my hair. _No one touches my beautiful rats nest!_ I had kicked and screamed as a child at Gale for trying to forcefully remove my protective coating of dirt, and lethal claws. She had prevailed for about three years, before I became a bathtime ninja. It also helped that by time I was five I was already taller than her. I sprang up in defensive position, swinging my lengthy coal-black locks like a whip. This would be fun.

"_Missed me you-"_

My face turned to an ashy shade of grey when I saw Richard and Elsa spanning the barn entrance. Richard's mankey crouched on his shoulder like some ominous gargoyle on a cathedral roof. That thing may be fluffy as a cotton ball but it was mean as anything. His heatmor glared balefully as if deciding how best to roast me. Talk about a grudge! Standing up stiffly, I stared defiantly into Richards's icy blue eyes, and my sister's inane black beads.

"**Leavanny return,"** Elsa sneered gaily, and Gale disappeared inside of the poke ball in her hand. I was shocked at the joyful grins on their usually grumpy faces. Where was that angry beet-juice color that my sister usually wore? Both of them giddy could only mean two things. One: they were drunk. Two: something terrible had happened, or was going to (most likely to me).

My sister had the physique of an overfed snorlax, with rosy cheeks, short cropped hair, wore flowery dresses, and two watery slit like eyes that were made to appear even smaller by her perpetual, suspicious squint. Her personality matched pretty well. She had a sort of lazy pride and couldn't get over her supposed "beauty". I, on the other hand, was described as having the physique of a meter stick that creeps in the shadows like some kind of phantom, with huge scalding eyes, and a tendency to communicate with the devil and swoop down on small children. I admit that not all of these descriptions are false. It's a wonder we are related at all!

Richard was a true-to-the-stereotypes, handsome blond idiot with blue eyes a fit build and nothing better to do than woo my revolting sibling and flex his muscles at strangers (especially girls) when, and when my sister was not looking.

"So, what are you doing here…?" I asked. I had decided that the awkward silence must be terminated and I was still unnerved by the fact that they were beaming mischievously. We definitely do not have the same idea of fun! I expected the worst but was startled by their response.

"You're going camping for two days, and you're all packed and ready with a map. We can handle the work while you're gone!" Elsa squealed enthusiastically.

I gaped, bewildered by the unexpected words. No doubt it was a clever disguise for _get out of the house for a while so we can be inappropriate idiots in the middle of the night and escape your creepiness, and belligerence for two days, _but I was thrilled. My prayers had been answered! Two whole days away from these nutcases! Two days away from endless chores! Two days away from pointing fingers, fearful eyes, and silence in middle school! This was going to be the time of my life! Of course I wasn't planning on thanking them. Their intentions weren't good, and if they thought I was elated they might just rethink their some warning signal clicked in the back of my head.

"**Let me see the map,"** I snapped. I had a hunch as to where they were sending me. Richard shoved his hand into my bag and produced a slightly battered electro-map. He tossed it to me, not helping its condition and I studied the route. I was due at winger's cliffs, just as expected, and I was unimpressed by their lack of consideration or excess of evil.

"**Isn't some sort of dangerous pokemon supposed to live there?"** I inquired gesturing to my desired campsite. **"You remember when they warned us about it in that school assembly a few years ago".**

My warning signals were flashing but I couldn't quite remember which pokemon they had been talking about. Something massive, I think.

"**It's dead now you idiot, that's why we didn't send you a few years ago," **Richard hissed. _Yeah right. _It was most likely sitting there waiting for a victim to come and make its acquaintance. I wasn't deterred though. I could give it a good lecture in pokespeak and if it was a threat I would blast it off the mountain.

I responded to my "family" with silence just to be awkward and Elsa muttered **"we'll like…um… like see you in a while,"** and the pair retreated giving me annoyed looks as they left. Richard dropped the bag in a heap of drying miltank excrement. Typical.

I retrieved the bag unceremoniously, and sifted through its contents. One change of socks and underwear, a dingy rag for a blanket, no sleeping bag, what could have been a tarp at one time (maybe a tent), the electro-map, my jacket and no rations were present. They obviously didn't expect me to survive considering my meager provisions. I was going to have to do some stealing before I left. I considered just staying on the mountain side forever and living off berries and my prey for the rest of my life, but eliminated the option when I thought of Gale's overworked lifestyle without me. I would go two…maybe three days at most, and come right back to my cage. Just the thought of it made me ill. Coming back.

I picked up the bucket of milk and waved to Dotty.

"_Don't you get any ideas young lady!" s_he mooed. _"I'll tell Gale the moment she walks in!"_

"_Love you to" _I called as I ran down the dirt path. I sipped a bit of milk from the bucket mouth as I went, dribbling it over my shirt and neck. I needed to leave quickly before finicky Gale could pester me about danger and death, and whatnot. _And then there's church, _I could hear her whine, _you can't miss church!_ It would break my heart to ignore the Leavanny. When I reached the house I slipped silently through the door and around the sofa where my stupid "guardians" were watching television and making lovey eyes at each other. When I reached the kitchen I stuffed a box of crackers, my pocket knife, a bag of dried fruit, rope and the last of the iodine and energy bars into my bag. Then I glanced back and took a plastic bag to waterproof my notebook. You never know what will happen. I then had an interesting idea. There would be most severe consequences when I returned but it would be more than worth it.

I counted down, 3…2…1…**"HA!"** With a satisfied smirk I guffawed raucously and jumped around the corner to raspberry at my sibling. She shrieked in outrage, an unflattering phrase. Before they were halfway across the room, I had bounded across the kitchen and crashed through the screen door to the side of the house. I leaped down the wooden stairs and calculated the damage as I sped away. _Au revoir sis, I'll miss you!_ I thought as I kicked up dust and lost sight of her struggling through the new exit I had just installed in her flimsy screen door. I adore having an unhealthy dose of insanity.

I screamed banshee songs and cackled as I sprinted, earning disbelieving glances from travelers as they strolled along. I must have looked like some kind of deranged beast, with my psychotic grin, leering crimson eyes, and pace of about 27 miles per hour. A cyclist barely swerved to avoid me, and a houndour barked its displeasure.

"_Human scum!" _it called me. I laughed even louder as its trainer praised it for the racist remark. I sang carols, and shouted insults at a few officials but they lost track of me before they even knew what had happened. I sang the carols that Gale had taught me for no other reason than because I felt like it.

"_Twiddle, diddle, with the twine, weave a basket to pass time"_

"_If yer done, and work is through, weave another one or two!"_

"_Up down through the middle"_

"_Just like fingers on the fiddle"_

"_If yer done and work is through"_

_Weave another one or two!"_

I relished every note that I sang, and every stunned face that I time went by I ducked and dodged cyclists, pedestrians and pokemon alike, managing to avoid killing anyone. I didn't check my speed though, and my legs were beginning to complain so I came to an elegant stop and plopped down on a rotting log.

"_What a thrill!" _I yipped as I removed my electro map. **"Whoa!" **I hadn't even realized that I had been using pokespeak this entire time. No wonder those people had judged me as insane. Who knows what they had been hearing! I shook my head in humor and, I confess, slight pride, and examined my map. I was not far now, and the path had narrowed from the great cement road, to a gravel way, and finally to a haphazard slash through the grass, weeds, and decomposing leaves. It pleased me to be on the edge of nowhere. No one could possibly annoy-

"**Hey!" **I shot up and spun around to face the path. In bewilderment I watched a boy, maybe about 13, slide to a clumsy stop in front of me, grinning like a loon. What idiot would walk this far out into the woods besides…a trainer. The boy was tall and lean with long black hair, with unnatural emerald streaks. He wore a white dress coat and sleek black pants. He was obviously some rich prep, who had just been given permission for his "little adventure." His dark eyes had a cocky, enthusiastic expression. He doubled over panting from his "trek" and I glared down coldly at him. I turned to the tepig by his feet and observed it a bit less harshly. When the boy was finished hacking and salivating, he looked up and opened his mouth only to be interrupted.

"**I'm not a trainer and I don't want to battle, so don't ask," **I spoke coolly.

"**Oh," **he muttered his face falling a bit. He met my eyes and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. I was obviously intimidating him, and rightly so. I just wanted to be left alone. He seemed to be rethinking his sudden approach.

"**Sorry, I just assumed…uh…well trainers are usually kind of odd looking and…umm… are those contacts?"**

"**No," **I growled icily. I was used to people commenting on my eyes. They are kind of hard to ignore, apparently. Crimson isn't exactly a normal eye color…for a human anyway.

"**I'm Kodeo, what's your name?"**

"**None of your business."**

"**So, where are you going?"**

"**Why do you care?"**

"**I don't know, just cus'"**

"That's moronic"

He appeared to double-take at my word choice and then breathed to go on again. I figured I might as well tell him. Stubborn things like him could keep at it for a while.

"**I'm camping at Winger's cliff"**

He gasped, **"Why! That's suicide! You must know how dangerous it is? You're gonna end up as a pile of meat scraps!"**

"And?"

He backed up a pace or so, perhaps fearing for my sanity, and muttered, **"Uh…nothing, bye."** I was relieved that he had come to his senses, and had begun a steady jog in the opposite direction of me, his tepig tailing. I loathed awkward conversations like that, and trainers…they just made me uncomfortable. I felt sometimes that my curse made more pokemon than person, and I worried that perhaps, I might fit into one of those pokeballs. I had dreamt something like that in elementary school and sometimes I thought about it when I saw the flash of an appearing poekemon, from a ball.

I sighed and peered at the route one last time, memorizing it, and took off again more cautiously than before as the rocky terrain sloped uphill. The map dangled in my hands, just in case a detail slipped my memory. The forest was becoming darker and wilder. Rocks jutted like the fangs of the mountain and I scaled them them when they appeared in my way. Some looked hazardous and I circled around instead. A poochyena yowled somewhere in the distance and a stunky glared defiantly at me from a bush, as if challenging me to brave a fight. I gasped as a venomoth swooped low over my head, its velvety lavender wings brushing wind into my hair. I watched the great purple insect drift through the trees and into the dark of a stand of pines. I felt intense, and alive here. I felt ready to face anything and I found myself sniffing the air and swaying off the path periodically to investigate sights and sounds. This place was a miracle. It was silent but cacophonous at the same time. I felt like a part of its heartbeat. I was just another pokemon making my way.

I wished that I could belong to a place such as this one. The town had never suited me as the wild did. I wondered if I would even feel remorse for leaving my sister for this, if not for Gale. I wanted to love her, and know in my heart that she truly did care for me, somewhere in that selfish shell of her's. I wanted to have someone in my home that I could ask about high school, laugh with and chase in the park, but Elsa just…hated me. I knew that Elsa did not love me and that I detested her for all I was worth. It was tragic really. I had a sister, something that most in my position would long for, but I would be better off as far away as possible from her. I doubted I would miss her even minutely.

The incline became steeper and I knew that the campsite was just atop the ridge. There would be a flat-topped cliff with a small grove of willows, near a pond. There was supposedly a cave system a few hundred meters above. Perhaps I could explore later. I saw a radiance emanating from the gaps between trees and walked out from between two trunks into the clearing itself.

It was stunning. It really was a sheer drop to the bottom of the cliff, and the base to the horizon was nothing but an untamed ocean of wilderness. So this was what the pokemon dubbed the deep wild. I sensed if I somehow managed to survive a fall and got lost in that sea of trees I would never see civilization again. The wild's maw would swallow me up and never let me go. I would be its prisoner for eternity. The pond was a sublime crystal blue. I cantered up to it and inhaled its scent, as clean and transparent as its appearance. I grinned, delighted. It was a spring. I didn't even have to purify the water. I cupped some of the freezing liquid in my hands and brought it to my mouth. Delicious and crisp. The pond was about three feet deep at the center and salveyo weed waved as a lively poliwag nibbled its fronds.

I chose the grove that encircled the pond as my campsite, deciding that the battered tarp/tent would be best utilized as a hammock. My rope lashed the hammock to a pair of sturdy willow trunks that bent close to the water. It would be splendidly chilling to know that if I rolled in my sleep, I would tumble into the freezing water. A strange philosophy, but I liked it. There were already enough punctured holes in the plastic for me to string the rope through. I nodded satisfied with my work. It was not a sturdy contraption but it would do. It certainly looked more comfortable than my bed! I slung my supplies over my back and plucked up a piece of dried apple to much on as I surveyed the land below the cliff. I plopped down right on the edge. A Braviary cried into the sky below and far off some mandibuzz descended in a tight circle over some trees. I wondered with morbid fascination what pokemon had just fainted or was wandering weak and weary below them.

I observed the soaring majestic bird pokemon in blissful silence allowing their calls to ring uninterrupted by my human voice. I listened to the poliwag splash about in the crystal pond and dreamt that I was a poliwag myself, cradled in the salveyo during the night, and frolicking in the wet during the day. I revered the silence and the stillness I had created for myself. It was so alien from the chaotic creature I usually was.

I sighed as I heard a whoosh of air coming up behind me, secretly hoping that the bird pokemon might land next to me or pass by my shoulder in its flight. I wondered if it might talk to me like the melodious little starly never did. Instead I heard a dull thunderous thump, and felt a vibration through my bones. The whoosh ended and I dared not breathe. I felt the presence, whatever it was, lean closer and hot breath played amongst my neck-hair. An ominous growl resounded near my ear and I almost yelped. _Stay calm, move slowly. _I knew immediately that this was _it. _This was the dangerous pokemon I had been warned about. I needed to give it no reason to harm me. I rose deliberately and gradually and slowly turned on the spot to come face to face with a pair of great, pale, furious eyes. I knew then that I had been mistaken to ever have left the barn.

**So I hope you like it so far. The real plot hasn't quite started yet. It might take a while to get it into full swing, but you kind of needed to know how it all started and a bit about Lauren's lifestyle and personality. I left you kind of hanging there. Sorry. It's just too much fun.**

**Please offer criticism. My strengths and weaknesses are vital knowledge to me. Thanks, and I hope you continue!**


	2. Freedom sucks, but falling is worse

**Greeting's again. Welcome back to my personal chaos. So glad you decided to stick around. Here's the disclaimer (again)…**

**Pokemon and all of its characters and creations do not belong to me. The only things in this story that are my own are original plots, characters and settings.**

**Thanks and Au Revior until the end of chapter two! **

**Chapter two- Freedom sucks, but Falling is worse**

Freezing, predatory eyes met my own and my reflection stared aghast back at me from their slit like pupils. It was oddly fascinating, as I hadn't realized how scrawny I had become, or that I possessed the same fierce defiance and ice in my own bright gaze. The great eyes narrowed, analyzing me, and another chilling growl, more pronounced this time, was uttered from the mighty beast's throat. I could feel it vibrate through me, as it emerged it from the creature. I imagined myself reverberating along with the broad vocal chords, like a tuning fork, and felt chills. It was a dragon, immense and beautiful in the sparkling mid-afternoon sunlight. Its red and blue hide seemed to glow and pulse with vivid color and energy and its silver, metallic, breast plates blinded me, as they glinted. It was like looking at the sun whenever the creature moved. The creature was several feet tall and crouched patiently like a stalking liepard. It was widely built, with a flattish head, and short but powerful legs. It had two cherry red brows above its head, and a turquoise frill of thick spines along its cheeks.

The creature bared its dagger like fangs, and unfurled its wings with a powerful _SNAP! _The wings were huge and crimson, like my eyes, and looked sturdy enough to carry the beast around the planet twice. They looked velvety though, and I wondered if they would feel velutinous under my fingers if I could manage to touch them without being mauled. Somehow I sensed that I couldn't blast this thing off the mountain, and I didn't think that it looked in the mood for negotiations. _Well duh! _Unfortunately negotiating seemed my only chance of survival.

"_Salamence_-"I addressed the pokemon, only to be cut off by an unholy roar, of fury.

"_How dare you address me human, after invading my private oasis! Your kind are rotten sinners! You have summoned my vengeance!" _

Well someone's hormonal. I was shocked by the Pokémon's outright display of anger, but I made an attempt to stay composed. Weakness is not advisable when faced with an intimidating opponent. I would have to be crafty, and firm.

_ "Uh...I would gladly shut up and leave your territory, but you're kind of blocking me, so if you could just-"_

_ "Dirty wraith! You think I will let you go! No…you are much too valuable as prey. You deserve it to, flaunting your pokemon slaves like disposable trophies. Taking our land and chasing us away only to hunt us down and imprison us!"_

_ "Slow down! I'm not a trainer, I just wanted to visit the mountain!"_

_ "Of course you are, you filthy creature! You are all the same!"_

His roaring was more like a piercing shrill by now and his head was raised like a vipers. He was spraying spit all over the rocks in his madness. I ceased trying to scoot around him and retreated the few feet I was allowed by the sheer drop. I was not prepared to deal with a rampaging dragon, with a severe case of insanity. He must be mistaken. Obviously someone had scarred him badly, and he had an irreversible hate for my kind. I felt a flash of fury and abhorrence for his enemy. Who could have turned such a majestic animal into a sad, raving lunatic!

Then a spine chilling realization hit me. _"You are much too valuable as prey," _he had stated. I gulped as I believed I knew what had happened to that person, and to every other person who had come here. The salamence's already massive fangs and maw, seemed to become distinctly larger, and unbearably close.

"_You've got it wrong, I'm not the human, who hurt you. I wouldn't do that. I'm just a girl, let me go!"_

_ "HA! More like a clever ruse to capture me and torture me with your infernal experiments and battles yet again. No, I'll down you like the little weakling you are!" _

I froze, paralyzed. He wanted to devour me! All of those people who had gone missing, had disappeared down this beast's gullet! I was condemned to their fate as well. There was no use in running off of the cliff, but I supposed being eaten by a homicidal dragon pokemon wasn't much better. I wanted to die strong if this was to be my grave, but to my dismay found myself pleading anyway in a last ditch attempt to survive.

"_Please, listen, it wasn't me, I did nothing!"_

_ "Nothing can save you pitiful human juvenile."_

_ "Wait no," _I wailed as the creatures wings stretched, like an eclipse over my head and it exposed its glistening teeth. "_You can't eat me! Not here, not now!"_

The dragon closed its maw and rumbled thoughtfully, "_You are correct, human, I cannot eat you here." _

I sighed with relief and fell shakily to the ground.

"_It would be most improper to wreck my vengeance in this peaceful place," _the dragon continued softly. "_What a mess you would make here, I must not allow your foul blood to taint it." _I looked up and shivered. I could see a horrific smirk on its draconic face, and an unpleasantly frigid glare in its eye as it leaned down to whisper into my ear, in a hot fetid breath. "_That's why I'm taking you with me." _

Before I could react I felt two sets of claws latch onto my shoulder, agonizingly tight, and the salamence's wings erupted above me. My feet were torn from the earth and the both of us were thrust upward into the reeling sky. I cried out as the cliff shrank behind me, and the expansive sea of the deep wild spread out like a black hole below me. It seemed to spin insanely and I kicked frantically in reaction. The winds howled around me and swept from the dragon's wings. They were laughing at me, and my dilemma. They chuckled at the irony that all I had desired this morning was, in fact, to fly away. My stomach lurched ominously as we ascended on an updraft and I thought, _if flying is freedom, then freedom _sucks_! _

I opened my mouth to scream again as we banked left, but the salamence, apparently predicting this, snarled "_another sound and my claws slip." _I closed my mouth with an effort but managed to choke down the offensive sound. I felt the creature's claws sinking into my flesh, and I knew that there was blood staining my shoulder. I could feel the warm wetness drip down my back and arms. I looked at affected area and saw that the straps of my bag were offering limited protection against the razor-like claws, but it would still leave a wound. The creature's initial frenzy at takeoff had been subdued and it's panting and racing heart had steadied, to a booming drumbeat. It was soaring and coasting on its broad wings that I still yearned to stroke.

My mind was short circuiting as we flew towards the blushing sun, setting after my long journey to the cliffs, and this encounter. How in heck was I going to get out of this? I was dangling two thousand feet in the air from a psychotic Pokémon's talons, so it could take me home and eat me for dinner. Beautiful, just b-e-a-utiful.

It was obviously unaware of my abilities (oddly enough since I had been speaking pokespeak to it just a minute ago), because it wasn't taking any extra precaution. Maybe mentally deranged dragons have trouble thinking about anything but wrecking vengeance? _This is an advantage! If I could just surprise it with my ember attack, it would release me, and…DAMN IT! _If it dropped me I would be an exploded zit on the face of the deep wild. _I know! I'll wait for it to get tired and then I'll break its grip, climb over… I'm SO DEAD! _I my intellect screamed and cursed at itself as despair began to creep into my mind. The salemence drifted down to a lower altitude until I could see the details on the trees. It must have been approaching home.

I shivered involuntarily, and exhaled sharply. My breath formed a vaporous cloud, before being whisked away in the wind. The air was absolutely frigid and, and now that very adrenaline that had driven me into panic, I realized, had kept me toasty. I looked to horizon pleadingly, asking the sun to warm me for just a few minutes longer before I was killed. I would prefer to die in warmth, with light and hope in my heart than perish in darkness and cold. The sunset was a painting of rich reds, pinks, oranges and golds. It was as if the sky had been set alight and the light of its flames danced on the landscape. The snow on distant mountain tops, blushed, and the clouds were gentle circles of the paintbrush. I was pacified and smiled down at the shimmering of water between the trees- _WATER! _

I rejoiced at the sparkling sight, but thankfully my celebration was silent. The water could be my salvation. If I could get the dragon to release me, there was a chance that I would fall into the swamp unharmed. The dragon was flying low enough for me to fall safely into deeper water, and if the depth was shallow I would perish knowing that I had made and attempt. I would use ember on its talons that gripped my shoulder. It had to be now, and I would give myself no time to comprehend the idea. Thinking would be my doom if I gained enough sense to back out.

I began the count down. _3…2…1…_

_ "GRAAAAAWER!"_

There were flashes of fire and braches and miniscule pinpricks of pain to fast to register and suddenly I was freezing and burning at the same time. Something huge and slimy was engulfing my legs and cold liquid burst into my lungs. I heard sloshing around me as I thrashed in this hostile atmosphere of impenetrable dark. My hands were completely numb and suddenly the bloody hue of my eyes drifted in smoky tendrils around me, in the murk. I was underwater….so I must be…_ALIVE! _

_SPLASH! _A foul brew of water, muck and decomposing matter was flung up as I surfaced. I thrashed as I expelled the icy mixture, from my body and reached for the branch of a nearby tree. I kicked blindly until my foot connected with the bottom and stood. I had almost drowned in 3 ½ feet of water. I would have laughed out loud if I wasn't shaking like the leaves on the autumn trees, and I didn't hear the pitiful kneeing cries of "Where_ are you human!" _

_ Well as much as I hate to disappoint, bye! _I thought. I needed to take cover, before I was scooped up by the salamence again. I waded quickly as possible (but somewhat sluggishly considering I was trying to run in three feet of water and probably several dozen feet of swamp gunk) to what I supposed was solid ground. I lugged myself unto the earth and grasped my shoulder when it stung. My hand came back with a mess of chilled blood dripping off of it. I couldn't let that get infected. _Dear Arceus, please DECLAW THAT FREAKING SALAMENCE! Amen. _

I was thankful that my bag had at least been spared. Soaking and rancid smelling, but intact. My heart stung for a moment when I thought about my notebook, but fluttered in relief when I remembered the plastic bag waterproofing it. Nothing would ever destroy that piece of my soul. I removed the bag, with a grimace, from my shoulder and observed its color to now resemble that of puke. Unzipping it as quietly as possible, I did a supply check. Iodine (I would definitely need it here), my soggy jacket, and change of undergarments, foul socks, dripping rope, my notebook, my pocket knife, now partially dried fruit, 2 energy bars, and dissolved crackers in their collapsing box. It was enough to be glad about, but I found myself yearning for my waterproof tarp/hammock, and that my matches weren't soiled (not that the surrounding wood was any drier).

I took my knife and sliced the underwear into strips for I figured they were the most useless materials with me. There was no way I was sacrificing the jacket in this weather, and I desperately needed to change socks. The resulting bandage was applied to my arm that I cleaned as best I could after purifying some of the filthy "water". I reeked of blood and swamp but I was pleased to be alive and conscious, and not in the process of digestion.

I looked down at my legs and feet, to see the adhesive muck that had been gripping them earlier. I looked like a melting clay model from my knees downward, as it dripped in globs off of my legs. I began to clear myself of grime, and shook against a willow tree. The night had stolen the last slivers of light from the sky, and the patchwork of black and rainbow through the trees had been knitted together into a tapestry of darkness. Winter's breath crept stealthily towards me and curled around my body. My wet jacket was no use and I found myself stiff and frozen on the peat. The bark of the tree was hard and freezing, offering me no solace.

I peered warily into the blacks, greys, and greens around me and began a dangerous process. I imagined. And therefore I was never alone. I had been the only creature to break the silence so far, and now that I was silent in rest an eerie stillness gripped the place. The tree branches dipped down and stroked the water but sent no ripples, their black limbs held out in salient claws for eternity. The stars were hidden by shadows, and a mist snaked over the water and between the trunks. It reminded me of the tendrils of red in the water as I had escaped. Tendrils of my blood, not unlike these silvery apparitions. It was impossible to tell solid ground from water, and mud beneath the ghostly fog, so I could not move to seek shelter. I could not sleep, but scanned the thicket alertly, wishing that something would shriek or fly or be startled from the bush, so I could know that I was not the only one left alive on this earth.

I was paralyzed by the shades and shadows that danced with the mist. I feared them and longed to leave the things that casted them behind but could not bring myself to leave the support of the willow. I let them envelop me along with fear, and the pain, and blood-scent, and adrenaline dissolved into nothing. I found myself losing the faces of Gale, and Dotty, and the little starly was flittering further and further away from me. Its feathers drifted over my head just out of reach when a little boy caught one and stood high on his-tip toes. No matter how high I jumped to catch the feather he was taller. The little starly flew back as if to retrieve its lost plumage but the boy caught it roughly by the wing. I cried as the bird writhed and melted into bloody tendrils of blackness that swamped my vision. I flailed in vain to rid myself of the abyss but it lingered in my heart.

No, no, no I whispered, but suddenly there was color. Suddenly there was light. I blinked my way into reality to see a pulsating glow of purple and pale blue, as eerie and ghostly as the swamp. It weaved in an out of the thicket like thread on a loom. Delicate blossoms and sleepy shadows appeared in its light. It felt cool and calm, not frigid as the air I breathed. It was hope come to guide me. Hope to light me to tomorrow. I was in love with the glowing beauty and involuntarily stood to seek a better view. It was beckoning, calling me in a little chiming voice like jingle bells tinkling. Suddenly my hope was fleeing into the black, and I did the only thing I could think to do. I snatched up my bags and stumbled through the dark and mist to reach it.

**So…hope, fatigue or stupidity? Maybe all three at the moment. I mean who would do that? Me of course, given the circumstances and curiosity. Maybe Lauren and I both need help…Nope just me. Creating a fanfiction character is fun, especially when you get to make life difficult for them. It makes it all the greater or more awful when they triumph or fail horribly. I hope you like the story so far and that you hold out just a bit longer at least. Please review and Au Revoir! **


	3. Guiding light

**Oh my gosh! You actually kept reading my story! I love you so much! Ahem…in a friend way. Thanks so much for any reviews and I hope you find chapter three to be engaging and weird (poor word choice) enough for your standards. Drumroll please…Here's the long awaited… disclaimer! (I have to do this every chapter don't I)…**

**Pokemon and all of its characters and creations do not belong to me. The only things in this story that are my own are original plots, characters and settings. **

**Au revoir and enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter three- Guiding Light **

My heart was shuddering violently in panic, as it never had before. My legs unfurled into the air only to be sucked back into the maw of the mire. The mist flowed around my feet caressing my stride, and concealing the perils of the swampy ground. I cried out as my foot caught on a gnarled root and I collapsed into a sinkhole of foul muck. I would not be deterred though, for a mere second later I heaved myself free. My filthy shoes sunk, and splashed through the silent forest, now vivid with the sounds of my frenzy. My screaming breaths, thrashing feet, and determined heart.

I was senseless as a rocket streaming towards its destination. Unaware of the sloshing brew, and freezing darkness around me. I could see, hear, and know nothing but that glowing flame that danced ahead. That called so sweetly to my troubled soul. My salvation in this blackness.

Finally my feet connected with semisolid ground of leaves and peat, and I accelerated dangerously, taking full advantage of the terrain while I still possessed it. My head was thrust forward by pure instinct and my arms pumped harder beside me. My body shook with effort and the shapes around me seemed to blur until they were nothing but dark streamers in the wind. Had I ever run this fast?

The blue and lavender glow was no longer a pinprick in the dark for it grew as I approached, and hope blossomed within me. _I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming….CRASH! _The thicket exploded around me as I charged through the last layer of brush and into a clearing. I was shivering with adrenaline and closed my eyes as a cool glow filled my eyelids from the outside. I had found hope at last.

My mind gave an insistent tingle, and I felt something stir nearby. The same presence was speaking through my soul as its hand was firmly latched around it somehow. I suddenly realized that it was all that mattered. All sense of movement and consciousness was fading. It was so quiet, so comforting I whispered a song in my mind "_guiding light, burning light, where do you now lead me, I have walked in the dark, following your hope" _

_Where did that come from? _I almost wondered but the thought was whisked into nothing as the tingle subsided and a voice filled it. It was like the chiming of bells, youthful and kind, but oddly enough mournful, as well.

"_We have not far to go, in this misty misery. Follow me, know my light, I will take you home"_

My consciousness almost shook me awake with its angry alarm bells. Whatever was out there was inside of me. It was a thinking creature, and it had conscience as well. I was about to be awakened but instead I felt myself, not whispering this time, but singing strongly in my mind, in my soul, in my heart and the voice chimed high and bright. It felt as if we were sharing one soul, and were connected similarly through it.

In unison we sang "_Spirit song, sing along, I will carry you on, if you have faith in love you will live. If you hope, if you dream, truth leads your feet, you will not be alone, for your guiding light…leads you home"_

Arceus I was grateful! I had never been so relieved and grateful in my life and I knew no way to express all of my love. An odd fatigue gripped me and coupled with my emotion I crumpled into a heap and whispered aloud, "_thank you"_

"_What!? You speak!" _a tiny voice yelped its astonishment, also _very _much aloud. That single, salient prick of surprise cut my bonds, and I felt whatever had been lurking in my soul slip away leaving it strangely emptier than before. My eyes fluttered open and in an awkward moment I realized that I was cold, utterly filthy despite my past cleansing, and collapsed ridiculously on the peat. Also, did I mention I had been taking commands from a mysterious voice attached to my soul that had previously persuaded me to run through a minefield of sinkholes? I mean how much dumber can you get!

"_Huh, where the heck am I? Who's there?" _I muttered unintelligibly as the fatigue gave way and I began to regain some strength.

"_You do speak! Holy Arceus, you know poke-speak, I mean it's creepy enough that you could sense my connection, not to mention freaking read my mind, but whoa!" _

"_I'M creepy?" _Someone was obviously exhilarated by my curse. Pokemon are usually surprised by my abilities, and here in the deep wild where humans are seldom encountered the affect must be amplified. It had never occurred to me that the light in the distance might have been a pokemon. _Well it couldn't be much else out here in the deep wild, besides a ghost! _

"_Or both" _the voice said, slightly calmer this time.

"_Hey! I thought I chased you out of my mind!"_

"_Sorry, I just have a knack for infiltrating things like that. Typical paranormal thing. So what are-why am I asking that, I was just fiddling in your soul, I should at least know that you're mostly human."_

"_Mostly?"_

"_Well you definitely aren't all human!"_

At this point I had stood up and turned around expecting, I don't know, a strange bioluminescent bird, or something. Instead I found myself staring into the aphotic forest, now illuminated by the eerie bluish glow. I cocked my head in slight confusion when the pokemon voiced, quite exasperated "_you're quite tall, you know. Down here_!"

I inclined my head downward, to the soggy forest floor and my eyes widened slightly. I had seen some pretty weird things in this region, from body building reptiles on steroids, to spiders the size of a couch, but this was just bizarre. It was a candle. Literally, a sentient candle flickering with ghostly light. I remembered all of the infernal blackouts that Turquoise town suffered and sneaking down into the cellar and risking a scolding just to get my hands on one. It brought back both fond and very disturbing memories. This was definitely going in my notebook. If I were lucky maybe I would even get to sketch the thing.

It had a stout white wax body and stubby little arms. The semisolid substance (I now realized was more ectoplasm than wax) oozed around the base, and curled over one of its eyes, just as my charcoal hair did. Its remaining left eye looked as if it were filled with molten gold, shining with a bright intelligence. Crowning the creature was a black wick alight with deep, cool flames in shades of blue and lavender, with pale blue licking at the tips, and a deep purple center.

"_Am I really so dashing as to keep staring like that?" _the creature inquired nervously.

"_Sorry, never seen a talking candle before," _I replied.

"_Probably for good reason too. You must have been insane to come to this part of the mire veil, only those with a death wish really do, otherwise they're just plain stupid. Yikes, I might have said a little too much there! I've been alone for way too long…"_

"_Wait! What's the mire veil?" _I asked wearily, now becoming more and more paranoid of my surroundings. This did not sound like a hospitable place to be. She seemed to struggle with something for a moment and that little tingle was tickling me from the inside again. She reluctantly continued,

"_The pokemon name for this entire boggy area. Most areas in the region are teeming with life but we're on the soulless path, you see. Sort of a haven for the more…misunderstood ghost pokemon. The only thing here with a securely attached soul right now is you and the occasional gengar, and with this company you aren't expected to keep it very long."_

My pulse quickened as I peered down at my new acquaintance. I was now severely paranoid and certainly not bearing any warm fuzzy feelings for the soulless path. Was it even possible for anything not to have a soul? Would it need soul substitute or something to stay on Earth? It also occurred to me that my local talking candle was not on the list of those that had hearts and souls (and that I might soon join her). Wouldn't something that didn't have a soul of its own still need one? Maybe need to…take one. Suddenly this creature inspired fear rather than curiosity.

"_What do you mean soulless? Are you telling me you're some kind of satanic ghost! Do you want my soul or something? What the heck do you mean that I won't have mine for long! What are you?"_

"_Were actually only missing the life force that binds the soul to the body."_

The ghost seemed to smile sadly for a moment, then her golden eyes blazed with determination. The tapping, tingling feeling grew more insistent, and it suddenly reminded me of last time, when I had first heard her voice.

"_What are you doing." _I snarled, shielding my body to no avail. I took a step back and met its eyes nervously. It had seemed so friendly, and eager to meet me, perhaps this was why.

"_This would have been so much easier if you couldn't talk, then I could just be the meek little guiding light until you burned out." _She sighed. _"Due to my blabbing mouth this is going to be quite the chore. I'm sorry I have to do this, otherwise someone else will take the opportunity."_

"_Do what!" _I snapped. _Great, just when I started warming up to the bloody thing I find out it's a sociopath ghost who wants my freaking life force! _ I backed away further but the thing advanced, its wick burning with new intensity.

"_Please don't resist. I don't get company very often here, I'm growing rather dim, and you're quite the find around here." _

"_Stop it! Stop whatever you're doing NOW!"_

"_You're so perceptive. Most don't even notice the soul tapping until they're passed out on the ground. I'm quite sorry you have to endure this. Burning's a harsh way to go." _

"_I'm not dying you freak!" _I snarled savagely. I felt my anger boil over and a fireball crackled into existence within my hands. My vision blurred slightly and my heart shuddered. Maybe I was dying. No matter, I wasn't going out without a fight, and believe me, I knew how!

"_Impressive, you really are quite the miracle, but I'm not looking for a fight, human."_

"_So sorry to disappoint, but I think you started one when you decided to steal my soul!" _

"_Very well," _the candle flared aggressively and the flames danced menacingly, casting eerie shadows across it's face. Will-o-wisps floated above it, whispering their mysterious songs. There was a gleam in its eyes that sent shudders rippling through every inch of bone and muscle. This creature was pure malevolence.

"_Let us begin"_

I sent my ember attack flying towards it but was intercepted by it's own ferocious fire ball, and the candle pokemon floated into the air with disturbing grace to hurl will-o-wisps violently in my direction. I ducked and rolled as they singed a tree next to me, but one scored a hit on my leg and I cringed as it seared my flesh. This was definitely not cool, soothing fire anymore. This was the real thing, but when I felt my leg start to tingle like my chest, I swatted it into smoke. _Life fire, _I guessed. _The fire is what's draining me! I have to put it out. _I zeroed in on the dancing flame upon it's wick. Sadly the ghost was no birthday candle and was no water type.

I mustered another attack, and watched as it circled me with the same eager and calculating glare. I waited a moment and then flung my flames at the pokemon with fervor, as it dodged frantically. It grimaced at the impact but it seemed not to phase the wicked phantom as it glowed with dark energy and raced towards me astonishingly quickly. I deflected the incoming attack with my hand and it almost fell from levitation. Suddenly a shadow ball slammed into me before I could brace myself and I was forced to the foul swampy earth. My eyes were swimming with distorted images and I found that I barley had the will to move, let alone continue my brawl.

"_I knew you would fall eventually. It was just a matter of time before you were fatigued enough to give me access. I apologize for what I must do."_

I saw the pokemon floating above me, the thrilled gleam gone from its shimmering left and a sullenness upon its white waxen features. _How dare you show your sick pity! Get lost! _I wanted to scream. I tried in vain to bat it away, but it barley seemed to notice and the gentle tingling became a burning in my chest. It felt as if something were being extracted by hot prongs singeing my innards, and killing me from the inside out. I gasped and glared weakly expecting darkness to finally take me but instead a shrill scream echoed through the air and the connection was blissfully severed. I heard a sobbing sound punctuated by gasps of pain next to my head and energy filled me to the brim with a single terrified "_LOOKOUT!" _

I rolled to the side as I saw gigantic purple claws tear apart the ground next to me. I rose to my feet quickly and stood face to face with a towering shadowy mass. Crimson eyes with slit like pupils glared into my own and a hideous Cheshire cat grin arched its way across the gaseous ghost's massive face. There was only one word for this beast. Gengar. It reached for me again but hissed in fury when lavender flames erupted on its crown. I backed away as the creature was illuminated in a ring of painful fire and it spun to face the offender. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of the candle pokemon staring up dizzily but defiantly, straight at the mighty gengar. The crackling and hissing will-o-wisps that floated like a shield around it were not in the least intimidating to the massive beast, who was now entirely focused on its new target. I was baffled as to why the either ghosts were behaving this way. Gengar are mischievous not malicious and the little demon who had been trying to consume my life force, not a minute ago, was boldly saving my life.

I should have gone running like the devil was on my tail right then and there but instead I did what was probably the most insane, idiotic, and completely irrational thing that had ever been done in the history of irrational decisions. I reached into the mulch below and hefted some of the swamp slop, crawling with worms and rancid filth and shouted,

"_Hey doofus, breathe your fart breath in this direction!" _Gengar are quite intelligent and so when it turned around, as expected, I proceeded to hurl my prize straight into its furious eyes. It shrieked and flailed blindly as I ducked under its claws and thundered as fast as I could away from the thing. I halted before leaving the clearing though, because there was absolutely no way in Hell I would be able to get through that death trap of a swamp in the dark without getting sucked into the graveyard smoothie. I would have to be twice as lucky as last time when dodging gengar attacks. My odds were awful. Plus the little soul stealer back there had saved my hide twice now, and I was willing to forget the entire life fire business for the sake of survival.

I dashed back to scoop up the astonished glob of ectoplasm.

_"Let's go nightlight, you're coming with me!" _

I placed the tiny creature on my shoulder and ran like a maniac into the thicket just as my predator finished ridding its eyes of decomposing whatever behind me. The light was certainly helpful but I had to swerve to avoid a gigantic sinkhole and a gaping ditch that could have easily engulfed me.

"_Come on driver, where am I going!" _I yelled in frustration as the gengar took to the air and floated through the trees after us. The entire mire veil was concentrated on eliminating a single epicenter. Me. Or at least that's what it seemed like. The candle shifted nervously but then responded with swift commands.

"_Umm...left! Watch that root on your right. Other right! Dive. Turn here! Watch the stream!"_

_ "What str- Yeesh, I'm soaked!"_

_ "Speed up he's gaining!"_

_ "I'm running twenty miles per hour!"_

_ "Not fast enou-TREE!"_

I flung my body to the side dramatically as a gigantic tree trunk seemed to materialize from nowhere in front of me. I nearly tripped and the creatures stubby wax limbs were latching onto my hair rather uncomfortably. I looked back just in time to see the giant grape candy colored ghost try to slice off my head with its claws. Was I wearing a sign that said "murder me" or what! I ducked and started off in another direction, taking evasive action.

"_How are we going to lose that thing?"_

_ "Watch those roots! Give me a second to think about it."_

_ "One. Okay, Now WHAT DO I DO!" _

A maw of blackness was open in front of me dripping with muck and lined with decaying leaves and maybe unfortunates like myself. I almost turned to avoid the darkness ahead but the candle guide on my shoulder shouted something mental even by my standards.

_ "FALL!"_

It took a moment to register that she wanted me to willingly be devoured by a hole leading to Hell for all I knew, though she could just be trying to kill me and drink my life-force when I went Ker-splat and died.

"_Please."_

"_No!"_

"_Yes!"_

"_AHHhhh…"_

"_Victory!" _

I felt myself tumble through darkness for a moment and the gengar's enraged roar above, but was then engulfed in slimy ooze, and heard the trickling of water around me. I was spitting out silt (again!) when I heard a snarling above. I froze in silence as the gengar huffed in frustration but then relaxed in relief as I heard it's angry mutters fade away. This slime bucket was no oven though, and however incredulously my things and I were wet to the bone yet again.

"_Thanks' for the advice, nightlight…hey, where are you!" _

I frantically dug through my clothes and backpack to look for my missing "ally" but whirled around when I heard sputtering next to me.

"_Stop splashing!" _

The candle was bobbing in the water hissing as the spray sizzled in its flames. It must have taken quite the plunge as we fell, and that was not beneficial for your average fire type. I cupped my hands around the Pokémon's circular body and lifted it back onto my now soggy shoulder. I fingered some squelchy ectoplasm out of my raven hair and it slipped free and fell into the water with a ghostly glow and a plop. I was thankful for the illumination that the candle pokemon offered in the darkness, though I wasn't thrilled by the awful scent or the water that looked suspiciously like raw sewage or perhaps mankey barf (I have had personal experience). The phantom on my shoulder seemed in refusal to look at me and I realized that there was remorse in its golden gaze (if that's possible in a demonic candle). We sat in an awkward void with only the drip drip of water from the roots above.

"_Sorry I tried to dislodge your soul," _it murmured tentatively.

"_Sorry I tried to blow you to pieces for the attempt," _I replied with a genuine smile on my face. For the first time since my leavanny caretaker I felt a strange sense of camaraderie that sent a thrill through me. Even Gale never jumped through swill holes, and escaped angry gengars with me. I was content with the strange but comfortable silence between us for a second and then continued,

"_I'm Lauren."_

"_I'm…I don't really know."_

"_Well I can't call you nightlight can I?"_

"_Maybe."_

"_You really don't have a name, do you?"_

"_No" _

I sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. Most intelligent pokemon have names, and she qualified as intelligent for sure. I wondered why she was lacking one. Maybe she just didn't have anyone to speak to, so she didn't need one. _How sad, _I thought. If that was so it must be even worse than my isolation. Perhaps we were both part of the traveling freak show.

"_It's because I'm a litwick," _she said bitterly.

"_Is that what you are?"_

She nodded. "_I think that I had a name before, but none of us really know what before was. Litwick are those who died in spite. We lose our memories and our souls. We're a punishment to Earth, put here just to repay the cruelty that others have wrecked on us. That's why we're on the soulless path. If any powerful pokemon saw us in their territory we'd be driven away or destroyed but in these numbers no one can stop the plague," _She spoke sadly._ "That's also why the gengar came. It attacked you because it associated you with me. You can hate me if you want."_

"_What if I don't hate you?"_

"_I took your life-force and nearly killed you!"_

"_But you gave some of it back, and saved both of our lives."_

She was quiet after that, contemplating. Then she turned to me with the most ridiculous grin for the time.

"_I suppose I did. I've…never done something…noble before."_

"_You were my guiding light."_

"_How ironic. Normally I would guide you to your doom."_

"_To bad I knew how to talk. We could have gone on a nice little stroll through the slop soup of death," _I grinned and she nearly giggled. I found it odd but fitting that my enemy was now a companion in the wet stinking dark of the sinkhole.

"_Did you know about this hole being safe when we saw it," _I asked.

"_Sort of…" _she responded with a shrug.

"_What does that mean?"_

"_I kind of recognized it and I didn't think it was too deep." _I raised and eye brow and glared. "_I had so say to do something! You sounded like you were going to pulverize me!"_

"_Fair point,"_ I stated. "_Let's get out of here, I think my nose just had a heart attack and it's not from excitement." _

"_Fair point_," she agreed with a friendly smirk.

"_Hang on nightlight, were ditching this stink pot," _I called determinedly and once again plunged my still filthy and still faithful "white" sneakers into the muddy wall for a foothold. I was officially no longer alone in the deep wild.

**I know gengar normally wouldn't do that but I think that most ghost pokemon really hate litwick, lampent and chandelure so it's plausible in this situation. I on the other hand absolutely adore the blazing pokemon. I have always cherished reading by candlelight in blackouts and the soft ghostly bluish purple glow is just lovely to me. In the game I raised a litwick named glowey all the way to its final evolution and it was (though I don't like to pick favorites) the most adored of my pokemon. Its pokedex entries just made it more fascinating to me. I have…dark interests. I can't write a pokemon fanfiction without an encounter with the devious "guide" in the darkness.**

**I hope you liked the chapter and the direction this is headed. Please review at some point. Thanks and Au Revoir (for those who are utterly confused by those words it means goodbye in French)!**


	4. Spilled Secrecy and Campfire Alliance

**Hi again. I guess this means you're sticking with me huh. I'm kind of surprised now. Thanks. You must be enjoying the story if you haven't left the site yet, either that or it's so ridiculously horrid that you can't stop reading it. Anyway thank you so much for the reviews. I was hoping to know what could be done better, but am honored by your generous compliments. Thanks. So let the fireworks whizz, crackle and BOOM! Let the brass band sound and the angel choir sing. I see it coming in the distance! The stupendous, spectacular…DISCLAIMER! (I'm having way too much fun doing this)…**

**Pokemon and all of its characters and creations do not belong to me. The only things in this story that are my own are original plots, characters and settings. **

**Au revoir and Joy to all! **

**Chapter four- Spilled Secrecy and Campfire Alliance **

"_Victory!"_ I shouted at last, pumping my disgustingly, grazed and gloppy fist. The putrid hole sat in melancholy failure weeping over its lost captives. I had thwarted its slippery, slimy attempts at containing our brilliant duo. We were triumphant, victorious, exalted…and I was getting a bit carried away for a girl trying to survive at two o'clock in the morning.

"_Are you satisfied?" _the litwick inquired snidely. She clung to my shoulder flickering steadily. It seemed this was her favored perch now. She rested nicely on my churning shoulder blades and collar bone.

"_Absolutely nightlight," _I replied. That hole had been a rank smelling jail cell for _eternity_. Even the freezing, treacherous landscape of the soulless path was preferable. I inhaled with gusto, optimistically and stretched my dripping legs. It had taken me forever just to find something sturdy enough to hold my weight! How many freaking times had I shoved my foot into the gooey sides of that hole with a squelchy sucking sound? It just sunk vertically down the wall a mere second later. Perhaps two million times isn't enough for you Arceus? My little candle aide had made the entire process much quicker by about a century (alright, I'm exaggerating a tad bit), with her illumination. I'm kind of glad I never got a chance to blow her to smithereens.

There was now just one dilemma that prevented me from achieving ultimate gratification, but that single problem counted for twenty as far as I was concerned. I was still a living litwick magnet, striding along the soulless path. From what I had perceived pertaining to litwick they were very much inclined to greet me, and then proceed to slay me mercilessly and arduously.

"_How many litwick live here?" _I asked nervously. If one was enough to best me in a battle, several would be a massacre. The shadows were now more reassuring than terrifying, with lights being the contemporary nightmare-fuel. Any faint glows in the distance, even a little glitter, would have me shivering like a sceptile in the Frost Mountains. Or worse, great hulking shadows with sinister grins. I shuddered noticeably at that one.

"_Thousands probably,"_ my companion retorted. "_We can't stay here or they'll start to track you. Your soul gives off a wonderful aura."_ The litwick seemed to grow peculiarly dazed after describing my wonderful emission. I wondered amusedly if basking in my aura was delicious to her, like receiving a rare and cherished sweet refreshment. I shook myself out of my fantasy and focused on the negative and rather pressing matter at hand.

_ "Brilliant," _I muttered. I was not thrilled with the prospect of another ghost confrontation that now seemed quite probable. "_Pardon for asking, but due to your tendency to umm…fizzle out, why would a horde of fire types chose to live in a swamp?"_

_ "I told you, we can't take up permanent residence anywhere else, unless we get lucky enough to find some uninhabited ruins. If I didn't live here I'd be either traveling with some nomadic gang or rotting in a dusty colony. If not, I'd be as close to doomed as a ghost can be."_

_ "Are there any places nearby where I can sleep without losing my life-force?" _I asked trying to scrape some decaying leaves from my pants leg, and gently plucking a twig from my hair. Gale would have a spasm attack if she could see me now. I conceptualized her twisted face contorted by shame induced agony. Holy groudon she'd explode. I'd have my hair combed out with a leaf blade, if she ever managed to get her claws around me. Her almighty fuss over my abysmal hygiene was exactly what a mother would do. I felt a pang of guilt for not notifying her that I was leaving. I had never even bid her farewell, all for the petty purpose of avoiding a scolding. Now I might never return to her. She had no idea that she may lose forever her reason to stay in that horrendous home. At least she was safe and I was not forsaken. The notion that I may have something akin to a comrade spurred my spirits.

The litwick had a concentrated and thoughtful look on her features for a moment and then she brightened and chirped, "_Actually, I know just the place we can go. Follow my lead."_

_ "Finally something joyful happens in our life!" _I grinned satisfactorily and set off under the litwick's firm guidance. I could almost imagine myself skipping like a lunatic and looking like a swampy abomination, as I pranced through the mire...

I hung my heavily saturated clothes on a rocky outcropping and tied the thin blanket around me like a towel after showering. I fingered the faded red checked pattern and bowed to feed the ravenous fire before sitting. I relished the feel of the lukewarm stone against the bare skin of my thigh. I wasn't humiliated being unclothed among pokemon. Unlike humans, pokemon have the modesty not to shriek if they see so much as a hint of skin on the more sensitive parts of the body. Clothes are simply protection from the elements, not from prying eyes. This is excluding the occasional pervert that pops up here and there. I make it perfectly clear that I am not a box of eye candy for the world's active pedophile society. I'm not that attractive anyway. Granted my view of my reflection was commonplace in a half shattered glass fragment.

The litwick had known of a small cave on the edge of the soulless path, hidden from the others by foliage. According to her promise this was a safe haven for the remainder of the night. No litwick, or any other resident, would consider searching here. I had opted to oblige some amount of faith in the pokemon and had become nicely situated to the slowly heating stone and rather spacious area. I still detected the background scent of bog wafting through the entrance and fermenting on my clothes, but it was overpowered by the scent of smoking wood, from my fire. The glow of soft tangerine, gold and saffron flames soothed my bruised and tender flesh, as I settled next to it and thrust my hands into its kindled warmth. I sighed drowsily as the litwick watched with poorly concealed awe. I observed with great satisfaction.

_"Humans normally put their hands near, not in the fire, I presume?" _

_ "I'm just special, I guess?"_

_ "But you aren't a fire type pokemon," _she stated skeptically.

_ "No," _I told her angling my calculating gaze, reflecting firelight. No doubt she was going to pry into my curse just as Gale often did. I stared into her uncertain golden orb with dull anticipation. She hesitated and then asked softly,

"_Well, you know pokemon moves, can run like a sawsbuck, and speak pokespeak. So…why?" _

There it was! The casual, long awaited inquiry as to why I was the freakish monstrosity I am. I despised the foul tasting question as I had felt it roll from my own tongue those many thousands of times. _What's wrong with me? _It was a rhetorical question because I never quite ventured beyond vague theory and no one else was willing or able to explain.

_"That's the problem you see," _I explained, removing my hands to take a sip of the finally boiled and purified water. It gave me the rare sensation of warm tea sliding down my throat, though I was probably just gulping deceased amoebas. "_I truly haven't a clue."_

_ "It's your body, shouldn't you of all people know?"_

_ "Apparently not," _I continued sarcastically. "_It had something to do with my parents for sure, but I can't exactly ask corpses, can I? I barley know a thing about them."_

_ "You're an orphan?"_

_ "Oh no. I've got a sister, Elsa, and her husband as legal guardians."_

_ "That must be heavenly," _The litwick murmured in bittersweet tones. "_Litwick don't have families. I would trade easily."_

_ "You would think so wouldn't you?" _I grimaced at the irony of it all. It seems that exactly when all we had was each other Elsa abandoned any compassion she had ever possessed. I jumped at the rare opportunity to express my feelings for her and Richard.

"_I never said they were my family. They will __never __be my family. My sister is a ruddy devil. She doesn't know a thing about effort in any field whatsoever and her husband is a cruel jerk, who just wants to be rid of me. They're assholes, the both of them! I should miss them, being related and all, but I'm glad that I might never have to see their Bloody carcasses again!"_

I snarled the last sentence, the litwick taken aback by my vehement demeanor towards them. They deserved my venom, and I felt sweet bliss when the candle pokemon didn't criticize me for my harsh description, as Gale might have done. It felt simply fantastic to vent my rage and know that there was someone who had shared my hardship, and would understand my loathing. Then my voice became gentler, fond, _ "_

"_The only family I have is Gale, my nanny."_

_ "What's that?" _

_ "A nanny's a caretaker for human children. I'm a teenager now, but she's there for me even though I'm thirteen. Gale was my permanent nanny. She's the one who took care of me as a young child because my sister wouldn't. Now she is my anchor. She's a leavanny and I love her more than anything else. She's kind, powerful, strong, and brave and beautiful. She did everything in her power to make sure I grew up to be a good person, who could hold my own against the world. She would make a good mother."_

I felt a strong sense of pride describing my longtime ally and surrogate parent in the primarily hostile Turquoise town. But then a disheartening gloom rippled through my words.

"_It only half worked. I can survive pretty well except in hell holes like the soulless path, but I'm not the best person in the world. I hurt people with my powers. They're a curse, not a gift, like she says."_

The litwick started intently at the aphotic darkness of the entrance with an emotionless expression, mirroring her cold flames. I could tell that she was still attentive though. I could smell something emanating from her form. Excitement pheromones. It must be universal to all pokemon, because these were the last I expected to utilize them. She was definitely listening.

"_My parents were rumored to be very exceptional people. Exceptionally odd that is. My father was a historian, tracking the ancient traces of human and pokemon civilization. He was fascinated by legends, especially Arceus. My father wanted to discover the true creation story and thought that only Arceus would know, being the oldest living creature. He wanted to find him more than he valued his own soul." _

The litwick started slightly at my last sentence. She of all beings realized the significance of valuing anything above the eternal soul. The litwick's eye still glittered ardently so I continued my tale,

"_That's how he met my mother. She was young and spirited, training to be a pokemon master with her team. Gale was part of it, I think, but she clams up every time I discuss my parents or the pokemon team. My mom was going to be great, unstoppable maybe, and she was infatuated with my father's discoveries. She wanted part of it, and agreed to help him track the legendary pokemon. Gale says that it was a race, and word of their expedition was out they couldn't have been without competition."_

I paused and wondered if mother were anything like the snobby trainers I had met on the woodland routes around Turquoise town. I suspected she was just as brave, and restless but…more like Gale. I had always thought of her as kind and nurturing to her pokemon. She would be firm but just and thoughtful, protecting them and cultivating their talents. Gale had told me very little about my mother, more regarding my father, which I felt was odd considering she was her trainer. I progressed with the story.

"_Things got complicated after that. They fell in love on their journey and my mom was pregnant with Elsa. She tried to be there for her, so hard, but she made a mistake, Gale told me. She put her past adventure ahead of her most important one yet, and all of us paid the price. My sister didn't get much time with her. But then…I was born, and they set off again on the trail. It was urgent. They left Gale to watch over me until they returned."_

It was so obscure talking about my parents like this. Speaking their narrative as if they were some alien stranger, which they were. Would I even recognize them if I were to come in contact? Would I feel any emotion whatsoever? Joy? Excitement? Anger? The only thing that matched this strangeness was that I was telling the story to a dangerous ghost pokemon whom I had just met today. I gulped forcing down the lump in my throat and continued,

"_Only they didn't, and the team disappeared with them. My sister became bitter. Gale say's that my parents must have found Arceus because she went looking for them, and when she returned I had changed. My eyes were crimson and I started acting differently than a child should. I could sense things and do things that weren't natural and people disliked it in my superstitious town. I grew up under Gale's protection and she kept me safe from my guardians. I had enemies everywhere but I lived with it. That was that." _

The litwick turned to me once more, looking somber but then skeptical. She muttered something intelligible and peered up at me as she did so.

"_There are no towns in the deep wild." _She was absolutely correct about that. The diverse Centias region was at least 70% wilderness and the deep wild was the thickest, most desolate part of it. Even the name Centias was derived from the popular speculation that there was a hundred miles of wilderness per city. No one would ever settle here. She was probably wondering how I even managed to get this far into the soulless path. According to her it is practically impossible.

"_That's an even weirder story. I was going camping on this hill today and a salemence tried to carry me away to his lair and eat me."_

"_Do tell." _She said her smile brightening and her waxy body leaning in closer. Ectoplasm, I reminded myself. She just _appears_ to be a candle, so she can lure travelers to their tragic demises. Interesting hobby. Either way her curiosity was peaked and I wouldn't disappoint her so callously. I seldom had a chance to fine tune my story telling skills.

"_I was sitting on the cliff and I heard a wind swirling behind me until it landed and I felt it's steaming breath on my neck. When I stood I was face to face with its leering eyes, its fangs agonizingly close, and its huge crimson wings stretched above me."_

I raised my hands slightly and bent my wrist and fingers in irregular twitching formations, like claws poised to strike. Then in a show of grandeur I spread my arms wide with a whoosh and brought them back close to reach for my dinner.

"_Normally I could talk my way out of these situations but it sounded and looked ready to tear my head off."_

I grabbed a piece of vile once dried fruit and tore it in half viciously with my canines for emphasis. It tasted atrocious but I was starving and swallowed the offensive food item, and reluctantly took seconds.

"_It had some awful experience with humans, so I don't really blame it for trying to hurt me. Suddenly the beast swooped down upon me and snatched me up. Before I knew what was going on I was being carried off over the deep wild in its claws, and that's where I got this," _I gestured to the bloody undergarment bandages cradling my shoulder. I felt like one of those hunters when they came to town for trade, brandishing their ugly scars.

"_So why aren't you dead?" _the litwick probed eagerly. My eyes gleamed in the firelight, as the litwick was slowly entranced by the suspense of my chronicle.

"_I was fortunate enough to notice some water below me, as it flew closer to the ground. I used ember to burn its talons and it dropped me from the sky into some swamp water. Then I hid from it and escaped, completely soaked and freezing my butt off."_

_Hmm…maybe that last part ruined the effect. _I wished that I could have rewound time to make a few edits to that excuse for a sentence. The quality was cruddy at best.

"_That's insanely lucky! Arceus must love you…," _the litwick trailed.

"_No, Arceus hates me like crap, or otherwise completely disregards my existence. My entire life is proof of it."_

The litwick shrugged and expelled a will-o-wisp into the air. The playful blue spirit fire pulsated gracefully like a frillish in the ocean, swaying with the current. I ate the hideous remaining section of my dried apricot and let it the cerulean blaze fill my vision. I watched it contently and the corners of my lips curved upward at the precious beauty. Fire is the most bizarre of elements, an agent of creation, destruction and illumination. It is so lively and warm, pulsing though it has no heartbeat. When you stare into the heart of a campfire and see the cinders fly and the starry embers of gold and blue you cannot believe that fire does not have a soul. There is no earthly creature, concept or object more alien, and deadly. I felt a strange attraction to fire in all of its lovely warmth and searing danger. Only my own fire was mine to command and it was much more exhilarating that way. The litwick's apparition bobbed serenely in the air until I turned to her to ask,

"_So what's your story, as I assume you weren't born the moment we met."_

"_I'm a litwick. Story told. That's all there is to it," _she replied.

"_Surely not," _I pried. I truly was curious. Pokemon lives were so fascinating and the history of a sentient candle was sure to be interesting. "_Not all litwick are the same as you, so you must have lived a different life…er…death, I mean." _

"_Litwick don't have very pleasant stories. We're not exactly a sane species, let alone cordial."_

I smirked slightly, disbelieving. Everyone has some jubilance in their lif-AFTERLIFE! Sanity is overrated.

"_Insanity is perfectly alright. I'm bonkers! It can't be that bad..."_

"_If you don't have a conscience, its fine, but if you do, you're screwed."_

"_What's conscience got to do with it?"_

She regarded me as if I had misunderstood the entire conversation. "_Spending your life brutally murdering people and ripping the souls from their breathing bodies isn't exactly great for mental or emotional stability."_

"_No, it's not," _I affirmed. _"But, I'd still like to hear some of it, the parts you think are most memorable. Summarize it. Language arts teachers give us summaries every other night so it can't be that hard."_

The litwick considered this for a moment and articulated, "_I've lived the same basic life as most of my kind. I've consumed a few life-forces, battled a few pokemon, was almost exorcized a few times, not an experience I'd like to revisit, and have "socialized" with some other litwick. I'm just kind of…different. For a litwick that's just another level of being an outcast."_

Her eyes suddenly grew quite bright and the fire dimmed as her own swelled. She burned with darkness, and she grew very still.

"_Most litwick take such pleasure in their area of expertise. They are so aroused the mere presence of souls and relish the feedings. It's ghastly."_

I envisioned a horde of ghostly litwick circling round some poor innocent creature, charred into an unidentifiable mass but twitching in response to the tinkling laughter around it. The litwick bore the same ethereal leers and their eyes glittered with fiendish glee, and disturbing determination. I made a fervent attempt to dissolve the repulsive image but the faces of the pokemon haunted me. I cursed my mind for dreaming up such horror. The litwick who dwelled here with me wore a similar expression of aversion and continued.

"_It frightens me a bit, because my instincts are squealing in delight when I leech life, and my mind tells me that my survival is assured, but something in me is crying. The part that used to be me. The before part. I don't like it but if I told the other's I would be banished from the soulless path and litwick society."_

I couldn't comprehend what sort of community could be formed by these twisted creatures who found enjoyment in the death of countless innocents. I maintained my silence and awaited her continuation.

"_I stay away from the gangs and colonies, because I have a trait that doesn't belong to creatures like me. I feel emotions that I shouldn't and…curiosity in things that I would be better off avoiding. I have a conscience, when most other litwick wouldn't even know what the word meant and I might be the only one. When I was younger I thought that I might have a purpose other than punishment and survival, but instead I nearly got myself obliterated. " _

The litwick glided towards the entrance of the cavern and looked back forlornly. She gave a slight wave with her little stubs and about faced once more sweeping away the hanging ivy that concealed the hideaway. It abruptly struck me that she planned to depart from my life then and there.

"_Where are you going?"_

"_Somewhere."_

"_But why?"_

"_Because you won't need me in the morning, you won't want me near you in your sleep and I don't really have another option."_

"_What if you did?"_

The candle pokemon froze holding the vine slightly parted to take her leave, but slowly turned her perplexed and hopeful expression to me. She was the mirror image of a shy young girl hiding one shining eye behind her hair. I swore that I could see her right eye blazing bright and amber through the fold of ectoplasm that covered it.

"_What do you mean?" _she whispered.

"_I mean I'm crazy enough to enjoy your company, and consider you a reliable ally, maybe even a friend." _

The litwick's face grew slack in stunned stupor. _Dear Areceus, what have I done. _Not only had I just said the _f-word _aloud to someone but that someone was an experienced pyromaniac murderer. Not to mention she had already tried being compatible before, just so she could weaken my defenses sufficiently to have a crack at my life force. I couldn't control myself though. Having an ally, someone who could understand me and depend on me just seemed so appealing. I didn't want to be the silent solitary shade creeper anymore. I, Lauren Roust, finally desired to abandon my solitude and explore the concept of personal association. The spearow brother's didn't count. They were just amusement, but this was something I had knew literally zilch about.

"_I know you're not bad in a tussle, and I could use some light on my journey. Both of us seem kind of lonely, and you can't actually like this place, can you?"_

"_Do you even know where you're going?"_

"_Off the soulless path of course, and then wherever I'm taken. I'll spring Gale from that filthy house if I can find my way back and maybe the three of us can have a shot at life, if you decide to come that far."_

"_You really aren't joking? You seriously want me as an ally?"_

"_For sure nightlight. We're the dynamic duo. I can be the blundering, cursed superhero and you can be the guiding light keeping catastrophe at bay and us from going astray. Gale can keep us from getting both our rears toasted. Plus, I think you're nice. I'll let that conflict from before slide."_

"_Lauren…do you trust me?"_

I was startled and mute at this. Trust is a sovereign word. The most powerful word I knew. No word was so sensitive and so senselessly abused. Complete trust was so extraordinary that I didn't even trust Gale. I regretted it immensely but I didn't trust her so fully, so precisely that I had never had my doubts in her sincerity. She had her elusive secrets and I held many of my own in turn. If I couldn't trust Gale I would never trust anyone.

I paused for a moment catching the ridiculously faithful sparkle in the pokemon's gaze. She had automatically come to trust me in her inexperienced and naïve understanding of the world. She had seen and done atrocities beyond my comprehension. She had penetrated the deepest depths of a soul and returned with their life being consumed by her flames. She had been tortured and harassed, attacked and cast away in ignorance and fear, but never had she been the victim of deception. She knew what it was certainly, as litwick seem to be quite the experts, but hadn't been double crossed by those she trusted, those she cared for herself. All of her foes had come brandishing fury, cruelty and pain, not flattery and comfort. What could I say to her? To tell her that I had no faith in her would be dismissing her as the monster she saw herself as. To lie would be all too obvious and it would break her even profoundly. Her mind infiltrating capabilities would act as a built in lie detector. Her elated glow washed over me once more and her cool flames danced in their festivity. I stared her straight in her gleaming golden, pupil-less eye and smiled sincerely. I wouldn't deceive her, but I wouldn't offer my soul on a silver platter either.

"_I trust you enough to have you as my friend."_

**This chapter wasn't really one for action, but one for understanding, hints and beautiful beginnings. It may have had a slow pace but I favor the idea that the two of them can empathize, and they are both far from perfect, looking back to Lauren's dark deeds mentioned in chapter one. **_**Shudder. **_**Those things barley scrape the surface of the abyss that is the human mind. They are very similar, and I don't want to leave Lauren's little guiding light wandering the soulless path. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't worry. It doesn't stay peaceful for long. There will be some more of my lovely chaos awaiting the dynamic duo. I hope is as entertaining for me to write as it is for you to read. Au revoir and see you in chapter five! **


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